Starting with my participation in Les Rencontres Photographiques du 10e arrondissement in Paris in October - November 2013, the street has since been a place I consistently show this body of work, DesCollages. These photos are my early steps in affirming my right to exist (in a 2-steps-forward, 1-step back kind of way), and leaving them out in the world like this is the natural progression to the process. Around the time I began the series, a dear friend told me, "you should really stop apologizing for your existence, because people feel it and start to treat you that way." His honesty and making these photos were like oxygen to a fire.